Guardian Angel
by SapphireMind
Summary: How far will someone go for love? Just a little one shot that occured to me.


General disclaimers apply, I own nothing, please don't sue, this falls under fair use of copyright.  
  
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"You ready man?" Roadblock nudged Duke and he shook his head a little to clear it.   
  
"Oh yeah. Sorry. Gathering wool." He smirked a bit, straightening his tie and checking himself in the mirror one last time, watching as all the other men in the room did likewise.  
  
"You better be done. It's time to rock and roll!" The men all got into line and walked into the church proper as the music played from the harpist and violinist. Smiles were present everywhere, waiting to see the first glimpse of the bride.  
  
The music changed, and everyone stood. Looking like an angel in white, Shana O'Hara solemnly walked down the aisle. All eyes were on her, but Duke's were in the contending to be the heaviest. He'd been in love with her since he first met her. She was beautiful, intelligent, capable and funny. Everything a man could want for in a woman.   
  
Through the years they had become best friends, long nights spent over drinks talking about plans and failures. She was his favorite sounding board, and he thought he ranked pretty high on hers as well. He would give anything to make her happy. Her eyes met his and in that moment, he saw such peace and true happiness, he knew he had made the right decision.  
  
Finally, she arrived at the altar, where her groom took her from her father and brought her up the few stairs to stand before the priest. Duke barely heard any of the words in the ceremony, he just couldn't stop watching her. Breathtaking was the best way to describe her, a woman any man would kill, or die for.  
  
He was roused out of his reverie when he was nudged not quite so gently and noticed everyone in the church looking at him. He froze for a moment, then took out the gold wedding band and handed it carefully to Snake-Eyes. He watched as his two best friends got married in front of him. His best friends, one of them being the woman he was madly in love with. Not many people could stand there and watch it happen silently, much less happily.  
  
The ceremony ended finally, ending his torture. He dutifully posed for pictures with a grin, congratulated his friends and even managed to dance a little at the reception. His toast to the two of them was heartfelt and brought Shana to tears, and after the cutting of the cake, he excused himself.  
  
Shana caught him before he was able to leave, a little worried, "Is everything ok?"  
  
"Oh yeah, it's just someone has to keep an eye on things back at the Pit. There's only so long I could sneak away for." He kissed her cheek in a fatherly gesture, "But congratulations Shana. I'm happy for the two of you. You don't know how pleased I am to see my friends find each other and happiness."   
  
They hugged tightly, Shana still a bit concerned about Duke; he sounded strange, but she figured it was just stress and she was anxious to get back to the party and her husband.  
  
Duke hurried out to his car and was surprised to see Flint sitting on the hood. He hopped down when Duke approached, crossing his arms, "I'm impressed, you got through the ceremony and reception. What happened? I thought you were going to talk to her." His voice was quiet, although they were in the parking lot, there could still be eavesdroppers.  
  
"I did." He shrugged.  
  
"....And? Don't leave me in suspense! Was she happy? Upset? Obviously she still went through with the wedding...." he trailed off.   
  
"I didn't tell her how I felt. I talked with her. She was happy. Really happy. What right did I have to screw up her wedding day? None. She is happy, and if I really love her, I would want her to be happy. And I do love her. So I'll let her be happy and not complicate things with information that will only upset her and damage our friendship." Duke sighed and unlocked the car door, getting in.  
  
"You are a better man than I am Conrad. That took a lot of balls, and it's too bad no one but Jaye and I will be able to appreciate it."  
  
Duke smirked at Flint and started the car, driving off.  
  
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Four years later, Scarlett and Duke were sitting on the couch in the rec room, watching TV and drinking beer together. She was teasing him mercilessly about his choice in TV shows, he dishing it right back to her. He got up, grabbed another beer for himself and tossed her another as well, sitting back down and putting his feet up. "Snakes coming back tomorrow?"  
  
She lit up and nodded happily. "Yeah, we're hoping for a little quiet when he gets back. Maybe have a weekend away."   
  
Duke took a swig of his beer, "Sounds nice. Put in for the leave, I'll do my best to see that it is granted." He smiled at her and she beamed back, giving him a hug.  
  
"You are the best." She got a little more serious, "You are one of my best and closest friends Conrad. I just want you to know you mean a lot to me."  
  
He gave a smile, that was as genuine as he could muster, "I'm glad Shana. You mean a lot to me too." He gave her a quick hug.  
  
"Now, I hope I'm not stepping on your toes, but....when am I going to get to meet your ladyfriend?"  
  
He looked surprised suddenly, "What do you mean?"  
  
She smirked at him, "I overheard you talking to Flint about someone."  
  
He blushed furiously, which she found immensely amusing, "It's nothing. She's just a friend."  
  
"Is it someone here?" She squealed a little, "Is it Cover Girl? Is it?" He laughed and shook his head, pushing her head playfully.  
  
"Trust me, I'm kept busy enough with the Joes and my friends. I'm married to the military. I don't need the stress of dealing with women."   
  
Shana laughed again, taking another swig of beer, shaking her head. "Liar! Some day I'll get the information out of you."   
  
"Some day maybe. But not tonight." He smiled slyly, "But if you really want to try holding your breath until I tell you, that's cool." She gave him a light tap upside his head and they continued chatting, laughing and drinking through the night, then he slipped away to do paperwork in the morning when Snakes was due home.  
  
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The sounds of battle were deafening. Gunshots and explosions were everywhere. Duke barked out orders, trying to get the team to safety. This whole mission had gone badly. They had achieved their goal, but barely and it was looking doubtful that they were going to be able to get everyone out safely. Snakes was wounded, as was Flint and Stalker. Nothing too serious he hoped, but he needed to get everyone out now.  
  
He looked over and saw in a panic that Scarlett was trapped, there was no way she could get to the team safely. He swore to himself, looking around quickly for options as he ducked behind some cover. He signed to her quickly to communicate his plan, then he grabbed one of his last grenades, lobbing it at the group concentrating their fire on Scarlett. At the same time, he came from behind his cover, firing and hoping to draw their attention away from her.   
  
Scarlett dashed across the field, ducking back with Duke behind a tree. "You ok?" She nodded quickly, and they prepared to move again. Suddenly, Duke saw a reflection on her red hair that wasn't just light or laser fire. It was a sniper's sight! Without even thinking, he pushed her down, stepping into her position. He felt heat as the bullet pass into him. Another whistled by his face and heard Scarlett scream. With that, he fell to the ground. He gasped for breath as his lungs quickly filled with blood and he saw her face, like an angel floating above him.  
  
He struggled to get out one word, "Hit?" With her scream, he was sure that this was for nothing and she would be dead too.   
  
"I'm fine, and you're going to be fine too." But tears slipped down her face. She wasn't blind. She knew that there was no way they could get him to a hospital in time to save him. Instead, she made the decision to stay with him until they came to help him, or he died. She couldn't let her best friend die alone.  
  
His vision was going dark and there was no more pain in his chest. It was so much easier it seemed to breathe, everything was just becoming light and insubstantial. He could still feel her arms around him, and he tried to get out the words to tell her how he felt, what she meant to him, "Shana..."   
  
It was too much for him though and with a gentle sigh, he passed. Scarlett started sobbing and was still sobbing when Flint came to her position, picking up their fallen leader and guiding her back to the team and their retreat.  
  
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"FIRE!" 7 guns went off in unison. "FIRE!" Again, "FIRE!" And again.  
  
The whole Joe team was there in black for Duke's funeral. Everyone had tears in their eyes, even Beachhead, watching his body be laid to rest. Taps began to play on the bugle and Scarlett couldn't stand it anymore and broke out of Jaye's and Snakes' hands, fleeing to her car to sob. Snakes began to move after her, but Flint stopped him, exchanging a look with Jaye, then following her.  
  
He sat down in the passenger seat next to her, putting a hand on her shoulder and giving it a squeeze.  
  
"It's all my fault Flint. He'd be alive if not for me." Her breath caught as she spoke, trying to slow the tide of tears.   
  
"Shana, you gave Conrad what he wanted more than anything in the world, and the only thing he would regret is that you feel so unhappy now." She looked at him quizzically at that. "Shana, he died with you holding him, saving your life. The man was so crazy in love with you, he would have made the heavens come down from the sky if you mentioned you wanted it."  
  
She looked at Flint, dumbstruck. "You can't be serious. We were friends. He was Snakes' best man, he always helped us in our relationship. He would pull strings for leave for us...." She trailed off as Flint nodded to everything she said.  
  
"He decided a long time ago that you were in love with Snakes, and you were happy with Snakes, most importantly, and he didn't want to do anything to jeopardize your happiness, even if it meant his own. But he was happy. He was happy to stay your friend and be there, even if he wasn't your husband. And I know in my heart you gave him the best gift you ever could have by being there with him when he died."  
  
Scarlett leaned over and let Flint put an arm around her as he continued, "So, the only thing we can do is go on with life and be happy, because that is what Duke wants for all of us, especially you, Ok?"  
  
A few more tears slipped down her cheeks as she nodded. "He should have told me how he felt. There are so many things I would have done differently, I must have hurt him so badly when we were talking sometimes."  
  
"That's exactly why he didn't. He loved you, in a way that most of us are not capable, a truly noble love and it was enough for him to see you happy. So just keep being happy so when he looks down on you, he can be at peace."  
  
She took a deep breath and nodded, opening the car door and rejoining the group by the graveside. Snakes put his arm around her gently and stroked her hair as the service finished up.   
  
As people filed away, she laid a single red rose on the coffin and kissed her fingertips and touched them to the casket, "I'll miss you Conrad. Rest in peace, my friend."  
  
With that, she returned to where Snakes was waiting, slipping under his arm and just trying to do what she could to live her life as well as she could. 


End file.
